


To Live a Lie

by Anonymous



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-06-28 09:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15704658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Cristiano collapses against the door, eyes falling shut. “What. The. Fuck.”“On the bright side,” Leo quips, “we can probably break up before they plan our wedding.”Written for the New Football Kink Meme promptthat asks for Cristiano and Leo fake dating.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [totaleclipse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/totaleclipse/gifts).



**\- - -**

_Cristiano collapses against the door, eyes falling shut. “What. The. Fuck.”_

_“On the bright side,” Leo quips, “we can probably break up before they plan our wedding.”_

_“Probably?”_

_Leo cackles, leaning in to drop a quick peck on Cristiano’s cheek. “Cheer up, darling. It’ll be a fake break up anyway.”_

_Cristiano’s cheek tingles where Leo’s lips brushed against it._

_“But there’ll need to be some fake dating first,” Cristiano points out because surely Leo is missing this part of the deal. He’d never have agreed otherwise._

_“I’m sure the pain will be very real,” Leo says, sounding way too cheerful._

**\- - -**

“I just wanted to give you the heads up,” Paulo says, grinning. He always seems to be grinning, eyes bright and excited. Cristiano likes his enthusiasm on the pitch but it gets a little overbearing when they’re neither playing nor training.

“About what?”

Paulo drops his voice, sneaks a glance around them and steps closer to Cristiano. “About the pranks.”

As if Cristiano didn’t know. “Oh.”

“I’m not sure what they’re planning yet but it’s going to be something good.”

Cristiano doesn’t doubt that. “What did they do to you?”

“I’m so glad you asked!”

Cristiano was just being polite.

Paulo chatters at him amicably as he follows Cristiano back to his car. Their hands keep brushing because Paulo has no boundaries whatsoever. Cristiano waits him out, leaning against his car and listening to Paulo’s story with rapidly declining interest.

Paulo finally finishes the tale of getting pranked by some guys when he first came to Juve.

“Harsh,” Cristiano says.

Although it’s still early into the day, the sky is getting dark. It might rain. He wishes he had a jacket like Paulo does.

“I know, right? And you don’t even know what they did to–” Paulo launches himself into another story, and then into another one.

“Hey, want a ride to my place?” Cristiano interrupts, getting tired of standing there in the middle of the parking lot. He’s tired, cold and hungry. He also desperately wants to grab a shower in his own bathroom. “We can have coffee or something.” _A protein shake, most likely._

Paulo stops mid-rant, eyes going wide. “ _A coffee?_ ”

Cristiano realizes that he doesn’t know if Paulo drinks it. “You can have whatever you like,” Cristiano amends, quirking his eyebrow.

Paulo is nodding his head vigorously, like one of those bobble head dolls. “We’re going to your place?”

Cristiano shrugs. He doesn’t feel like going anywhere else and Paulo obviously doesn’t want to part ways just yet.

“I thought you were still hunting for houses?”

“I am. It’s just a place to stay in the meantime,” Cristiano says. He’s not going to settle for a compromise of a house so it might take a while until something that’s truly perfect shows up.

“I see.”

“So. You’re getting in or not?” He wishes Paulo would _not_ but the kid nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to get to the other side of the door.

Cristiano slips behind the steering wheel with a sigh.

**\- - -**

Paulo is back to talking hundred miles a minute. He doesn’t even notice that Cristiano misses his turn and has to circle them back to the same intersection _twice_.

Cristiano doesn’t need GPS, he remembers the way. Sort of. It’s all very new. The city, the people, the team. He wants this new phase to be over already so he can settle into a comfortable routine.

“Looks nice,” Paulo says, surprised, when Cristiano finally stops the car and they walk to the hallway of Cristiano’s new home.

Cristiano frowns. “You sound surprised.”

“What? No. I mean, I just thought you haven’t settled in yet.”

Cristiano hasn’t, the apartment came furnished. He hasn’t even unpacked yet. Bloody hell, he hasn’t even signed the lease yet, it was all just the pre-arrangements his agent signed for him. “It’s close to the training centre.” _If you take the right turn._

“It’s close to the city centre, too,” Paulo says, peering through one of the windows.

“The location was one of the deciding factors.” Cristiano says as he closes the door behind them. Paulo is acting oddly. If Cristiano didn’t know better, he might even suspect the kid was nervous about being here. “That and the rooftop terrace.”

“Sweet,” Paulo says. His fingers are restless, running through his hair, smoothing the spikes, playing with the zipper of his jacket, then tugging at his sleeves.

“Take off your clothes,” Cristiano says, nodding to the coat hanger. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Paulo shrugs off his jacket and follows Cristiano inside. “You gonna give me the tour?”

Cristiano raises an eyebrow at that. The place is hardly big enough to get lost. “Why the hell not.”

Paulo’s lips stretch into a small smile that reaches his eyes and makes his whole face light up.

 _Way too excitable,_ Cristiano thinks as he points out the kitchen, the living room, the guest room and other parts of the flat.

“…And that’s the master bedroom. The bathroom is right next to it, I’ll grab a quick shower if that’s okay?”

Paulo nods, mutely.

“It’ll be just a minute,” Cristiano assures him and waves his hand to the living room. “Just wait for me. And please feel at home.”

Paulo finally looks up at him again and the gaze is just too intense, too bright. “Yeah, I’ll wait,” he says, gulping. “Sure.”

Cristiano gives him an encouraging smile. The sooner Paulo shakes off this star-struck look, the better for everyone on their team.

“I still can’t believe I’m here,” Paulo says, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. He looks part shy, part excited.

“Hey,” Cristiano says, hand settling on Paulo’s shoulder and giving him a gentle squeeze. “I did ask you over, didn’t I?”

“I can’t believe you did.”

Cristiano squeezes the kid’s shoulder again. “I really want things to work for us.”

The reverent look in Paulo’s eyes is back, accompanied with a slight flush to his cheeks. He’s nodding his head excessively again.

Cristiano drops his hand. _One step at the time,_ he thinks as he heads for the shower.

**\- - -**


	2. Chapter 2

**\- - -**

The door to his bedroom is slightly ajar when he gets out of the shower. Cristiano suppresses the wave of anger that twists his mouth into a flat line. Telling the kid to feel at home was not meant as an open invitation to raid his cupboards.

As he towels his hair dry, he strides inside, elbowing the door open, drawing in a deep breath to give Paulo a piece of his mind.

Whatever he was going to say never makes it past his lips because the words die in his throat.

“Hey,” Paulo says breathily. He is lying diagonally across Cristiano’s bed, watching Cristiano with heat in his eyes. He is buck naked.

Cristiano grips the doorframe, knuckles going white. Paulo has his legs bent at an angle that can’t be comfortable, his head propped up with one hand while his hand is–

Cristiano tears his eyes away from the scene.

“You took forever,” Paulo pants. “So I decided not to wait, after all.”

Cristiano’s voice is cold, tone biting. “Is this supposed to be a prank?” He can’t believe Paulo would– “Did the team put you up to this or was this your idea?”

Paulo stares up at him, mouth open, cheeks flushed.

“For fuck’s sake, get dressed,” Cristiano snaps.

This finally seems to get through the kid’s thick skull and Cristiano watches his expression crumble. One moment he’s looking at Paulo spread on the bed, posing, proud and flirty, the next he’s just this wide-eyed kid, flustering and fumbling to reach for his discarded clothes.

Hurt and confusion is written all over the kid’s face. Either he’s one hell of an actor or– “Did you really think I’d…” Cristiano can’t make himself finish the sentence.

“You asked me over!” Paulo scrambles to the edge of the bed, his back to Cristiano. His shoulders are hunched and all Cristiano can think about is Paulo’s naked ass brushing against the silky sheets. He’ll need to do laundry.

“I didn’t mean– Not for _this_!”

“For _a coffee_!” Paulo grabs his phone, pokes at the screen then pockets it. He’s shaking.

Cristiano remembers being young and fearful that someone would _notice_. It used to be his biggest fear, that someone would know and that someone would tell and that his career would be over before he got the chance to prove to everyone how good he is as what he does. He might have been strong but the bubble around him was fragile and it was incredibly easy to get hurt.

Paulo’s shirt is on the floor near the door. Cristiano bends over and tosses it to Paulo. He rubs his hand against his mouth. “Paulo–”

“I know. ‘Get out, Paulo!’” Paulo says, blinking at the team issued shirt before pulling it over his head. “You don’t want me here, you want me _gone_.” 

Cristiano isn’t sure if he means the house or the team. “No! I want you, I asked you here to get to know you better, I just don’t want–”

Paulo shakes his head, words so quiet Cristiano almost doesn’t hear them. “You don’t want my body.” He wraps his arms over his torso, making himself smaller.

“It’s not about your body.” He can’t have Paulo thinking that if he changed, if he worked hard enough if he trained more or ate less, that Cristiano would change his mind. No amount of muscle would change his mind about this. “You’re hot.”

“Please don’t.”

But Cristiano needs to make that miserable look go away. “I mean objectively! I’m just not into that.”

Paulo laughs, harshly. “Oh please, don’t feed me that. I’ve seen you looking.”

Cristiano opens his mouth to protest but Paulo cuts him off with an annoyed wave of his hand.

“Not at me,” Paulo bites out, “it’s why I was so surprised today to hear you’ve changed your mind. I should have known better. There’s nothing about me you’d want.”

Well, the kid’s not wrong but to let him keep thinking that would be cruel. Damn it, he should let the kid down gently. This will be awkward as hell between them anyway. Cristiano even thought it was a joke the team was playing on him, to make fun of him by using Paulo. The kid said ‘heads up’ about the pranking and it was where Critiano’s mind jumped to first. It was also the first thing he said to the kid, to let him know the joke wasn’t welcome. But it wasn’t a joke for Paulo and Cristiano immediately dismissing him like that must have _hurt_.

“The ink’s hot!” Cirsitano blurts out, desperately trying to find something – anything – that would make it hurt a little less. “And so is the accent! It’s very… Argentinean.” Cristiano winces. _Great job, Cris, great job,_ he thinks to himself.

Paulo crosses the room to get to Cristiano. He’s fully dressed, thank god.

Cristiano schools his face into something that doesn’t show the pity he feels and is careful to keep the ‘talking to the besotted fans’ tone out of his voice. “You’re a great kid, Paulo. I wish I could tell you something else but.” He shrugs, offers a regretful smile.

“I’m not a kid,” Paulo hisses, something sparkling in his eyes.

Cristiano sees it coming. He grabs Paulo by his shoulders to keep him at bay and turns his head to the side just in time for Paulo’s lips to catch the corner of his mouth.

There is a long silence.

Paulo’s breath is coming in shallow, quick puffs of hot air against Cristiano’s skin. His hand is pressing into Cristiano’s chest.

Cristiano’s hair is still a bit wet from the shower but more importantly, he hasn’t had the chance to put on a clean shirt yet and Paulo’s hand has a searing touch on Cristiano’s naked skin. He uses the hold he has on Paulo’s shoulders to turn them around and shove Paulo through the door, out of the bedroom.

Paulo gasps. “You like them small enough to manhandle, huh?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Cristiano snaps, losing his cool, then regretting it right away. No need to agitate Paulo any further.

Paulo blinks up at him, expression unreadable. It’s been one hell of a morning for him. Cristiano lets out a slow breath.

“Let’s forget this ever happened, okay?” He drops one hand to his side, keeping just one hand lightly touching Paulo’s shoulder. “I won’t report you to anyone, I promise.”

Paulo’s eyes are wide as saucers and fuck, perhaps it hasn’t even _occurred_ to him Cristiano could report him before Cristiano had to open his mouth and mention it. _Jesus, well done, Cris. You just managed to scare the kid even more._

Paulo jerks away, sends one last look at Cristiano and then swivels around.

“Come back! Paulo, come back!”

Paulo _runs_. He makes it to the front door even faster than Cristiano did that one morning he managed to oversleep.

“Wait!”

Paulo gets his jacket off the coat hanger in one jerky motion, then hurries through the door as if the flat was on fire.

Cristiano doesn’t follow after him, he just listens to the sound of Paulo pounding down the staircase until his footsteps fade off completely.

Then he hangs his head low and hides his face in his palms.

“Fuck,” he says, heartfelt, to the empty room.

**\- - -**


	3. Chapter 3

**\- - -**

Cristiano’s phone rings, interrupting his unhappy musings. He glances at the screen and doesn’t recognize the number. He almost doesn’t answer but then he realizes he was supposed to meet the landlord today to belatedly sign all the paperwork necessary to his new flat.

He quickly swipes his forefinger across the screen to accept the call. “Hello?”

A male voice answers, pleasant and upbeat. “Hello.” Cristiano can hear the sounds of traffic in the background. “I’m the landlord. I wanted to make sure you have time to meet up today.” 

“Of course,” Crisitano assures, although he’s almost forgotten.

“Great. You said you’d have time around two?”

Cristiano glances at the clock on the wall. “Yes. But I’m free already if you want to come in sooner.”

There is a short pause. “I could be there in thirty minutes, how about that?”

Cristiano could deal with the landlord, send him on his merry way and then reach out to Paulo to try to make amends. Paulo would have several hours to cool down and sort out his thoughts, maybe he would be willing to talk. Last thing Cristiano wants is creating any more tension among his new team.

“…Or I could be there at two, like we agreed before?”

Cristiano realizes the landlord is still on the line. “Oh, no. Sorry, just thinking. Yeah, let’s meet in thirty minutes, that would be perfect.”

“All right, I’ll bring the lease agreement.” The guy sounds cheerful at the prospect of meeting Cristiano.

“Okay,” says Cristiano. He hopes the landlord won’t ask for an autograph, that would be awkward. His agent should have made sure the place was safe from anyone prying into his private life.

It’s not until he hangs up that he realizes he didn’t get the guy’s name so he can’t put it on the list of people allowed into the building. A landlord should probably make it past the security guard but Cristiano decides to ring the security guy anyway to tell him about it.

The guy sounds amused, assuring Cristiano he would know the landlord and that yes, he would let him in.

**\- - -**

The doorbell rings about twenty minutes later and Cristiano hurries to the door, pulls it open and is met with his landlord’s grinning face. It’s a very familiar face, too.

“You?”

“I’m sorry,” Leo Messi says, “I wanted to see the look on your face.”

Cristiano quickly tries to school his expression into something that doesn’t look so dumbfounded but he’s probably failing miserably. “You’re the landlord?”

“Yeah. I usually do this by proxy but when they told me you took a liking to this place I couldn’t resist and had to show up in person.”

Cristiano is still having trouble understanding. “Why would you even need to own a place here, of all places?”

Leo looks past Cristiano into the hallway. “I’ve kept it for years, it’s easy to rent it. I mean, it even meets your standards. It’s nice to know you approve of my taste.”

“It’s in dire need of redecorating,” Cristiano says quickly.

“Dire need?” Leo’s eyes quickly scan what he can see of the hallway, undoubtedly realizing Cristiano hasn’t changed a single thing.

“I didn’t have time, I just got here,” Cristiano says.

Leo is slowly nodding his head, eyes focusing on Cristiano. “You’ve been paying the rent for two months already.”

Shit. He forgot Leo would know _exactly_ how long it’s been since Cristiano settled down in this place. “Uh.”

“Oh man, your face,” Leo laughs. “Why don’t you invite me in so I can sit down?”

Cristiano opens his mouth to point out it’s rude to just invite yourself into other people’s home but then he realizes they’d hardly want to sign the papers on the doorstep of the flat. He steps aside, letting Leo come in.

Leo hobbles through the door and down the hallway where he leans heavily against the wall.

Cristiano stares.

Leo makes a face. “Torn ligament.” Then, without being prompted, he adds, “Six more weeks.”

Cristiano winces in sympathy. “You should be resting.”

Leo blinks up at him. “I am. I have a physio that’s Italian. Guy’s retired and refuses to see me in Spain anymore.” Leo chuckles. “He works marvels, though. Figured if he doesn’t want to go to Spain, I might come bother him here. It’s not like I can play right now.”

“He must have a magic touch.”

“He really has. The sessions are a bloody torture, don’t get me wrong, but it works.”

“You think you know pain but you should be glad Fabrizio never got his paws on you,” Cristiano says, pretending to shudder. “I swear Javi was a tame kitten in comparison.”

Leo laughs at him.

“You just keep laughing, you probably think weighted plank is the worst exercise there is!”

Leo only laughs harder an Cristiano’s lips curl up in a pleased smirk. It’s surprisingly easy to settle into a chatter about nothing in particular. He almost forgets why Leo is here in the first place.

They’ve settled in the living room, Cristiano has fixed them shakes that would make his nutritionist nod in approval but Leo shudders at the taste. They’ve been talking for some time and Cristiano has just finished telling a story that Leo has to know he can’t match.

“Oh, Mr. Ronaldo, you’re the best,” Leo drawls. “May I have your autograph? Please, oh, please?”

Cristiano frowns but before he can puzzle it out, Leo is breaking into laughter again and sliding some papers across the table. “You keep this one, the copy goes to me.”

The lease agreement. “Oh, right,” Cristiano says meekly, reaching under the table to get out some pens. He knows he put them in there, somewhere. His eyes are scanning all the mumbo jumbo he barely comprehends. All his details are already filled in. His lawyer had read through and approved of this lease but maybe Leo doesn’t know that.

He could ask Leo to give him some time to go over it and suggest meeting up again for signing it. But if Leo knows all the paperwork has been okayed, he might think Cristiano is so suspicious because he just found out it’s Leo who is leasing the house. Cristiano doesn’t want to give him that impression. Neither does he want to risk the chance that Leo would tell him to just sign the lease whenever and have his agent drop it by Leo’s people. That wouldn’t get him to meet Leo again.

He pauses, wondering why he wants to see Leo again so much.

“What did that poor picture did to you? Stop glaring holes into it,” Leo says. “For the record, it’s not my decor, it’s what the previous tenants left behind.”

Cristiano tears his eyes away from the picture above the couch. He was staring at it without seeing it at all.

“I was just reading the fine print,” Cristiano says, quickly looking back at the papers at hand. “What do you know, one bad turn and I might end up agreeing to sell my car to you!”

Leo shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want it _for free_.”

Before Cristiano can make an indignant reply, the doorbell rings. Cristiano startles at the still unfamiliar sound.

Leo raises an eyebrow. “You expecting someone?”

“Me?”

“Surely not me. It’s your flat, you know,” Leo says.

“I know that,” Cristiano mutters.

“You should probably see who it is,” Leo says.

Cristiano raises to his feet. “You–”

“I’m not in a hurry,” Leo waves him off. “Unless you take longer than six weeks to come back.”

“Ha. Ha,” Cristiano says but he’s smiling.

**\- - -**


	4. Chapter 4

**\- - -**

Cristiano’s smile drops as he approaches the door. He hopes it’s not Paulo because he doubts Paulo would come back to apologise, much less on the same day. It’s why Cristiano wanted to text him later, to give him space and a chance to think it all through without Cristiano being in the same room.

If it is Paulo, he wouldn’t be here to make nice. Cristiano doesn’t want to have that particular conversation where Leo can overhear them.

He opens the door and for a few fleeting seconds he feels relieved because it’s not Paulo. Then his common sense kicks in and his stomach drops.

There is no good reason his PR girl would show up unannounced, accompanied by four other people Cristiano doesn’t recognise. They all stare at Cristiano with gloomy expressions.

“Pia? Hi. Did I miss something?”

“Hi, Cris,” Pia says tightly. “This is Paulo’s agent and his lawyer.” She says their names but Cristiano is too bewildered to really pay attention. He goes through the motions of shaking their hands automatically, not understanding what’s happening.

Pia doesn’t seem to pick up on his distress and goes on. “You’ve already met Stella,” she says, her face clearing momentarily.

Cristiano can’t remember ever meeting Stella. She gives him a small nod which he returns.

“And this is one of our lawyers,” Pia finishes. “He’s here to help.”

“Helmut Schultz,” the team’s lawyer extends his hand, gives Cristiano a firm death grip instead of a shake. “I was hoping we would not have to meet so soon.” It sounds like a reprimand.

“Please, come in,” Cristiano says, stepping aside and gesturing for them to come inside the flat.

They sit at the table in the dining room, all of them silent.

Cristiano clears his throat. “What can I do for you?”

Pia heaves a sigh. “I could use a coffee, please.”

Cristiano’s eyebrow twitches but he nods, crossing the room to the part where it connects to the kitchen. It’s all open space, so he sets one mug from the cupboard down on the kitchen isle and asks, “Anyone else?”

He’s always liked Pia for her bluntness, even if she sometimes came across as being rude.

Schultz actually raises his hand. “I would like some. Black, no sugar, please.”

 _Black and bitter like your soul,_ Cristiano thinks but he manages a polite smile. He nods and gets another mug from the cupboard.

Stella hesitantly asks him for tea, which he approves of. The other two guys don’t want anything so Cristiano puts the kettle on and waits, fingers drumming a nervous rhythm into the counter until the water reaches its boiling point.

**\- - -**

“We came to you personally because it is the easier way. More precisely, it could be the easier way, given that you cooperate with us. Which I strongly suggest you do,” Schultz says, stirring his coffee with a teaspoon. There’s nothing to stir in it, Cristiano wants to snap at him but wisely keeps his mouth shut and waits for Schultz and company to explain what’s going on.

“Alerting the authorities is the last option,” says Pia.

The other lawyer reaches into his briefcase and gets out some papers and a small recording device of sorts. “But we won’t hesitate to reach out to higher instances should you fail to provide an agreeable compensation.”

“Ideally, it will not come to that,” Schultz cuts in. “I am certain we will find an arrangement that helps us settle things without anyone pressing any charges.”

“Charges?” Cristiano echoes.

“Mr. Dybala came to us today with some very serious accusations and he has also provided us with proof for said accusations.”

“What?” Cristiano feels like someone jerked the rug from beneath his feet. His throat constricts.

Schultz asks, “What were you doing today, after the football practise was over?”

Cristiano’s mouth soundlessly shapes around the words.

“Please focus,” Schultz says briskly. “Tell us about your whereabouts after the morning practise.”

“I went home,” Cristiano says. His eyes flicker across the room. Nothing makes sense.

Stella is staring at the table, not meeting anyone’s eye, occasionally blowing into her steaming mug of tea. Paul’s agent has his arms braced on the table, tips of his fingers pressed together, pointing at Cristiano. He is observing the situation like a hawk but doesn’t seem to get involved beyond that. Pia has a pained expression on her face and she tries to give Cristiano an encouraging smile when she catches his gaze. Her smile comes out strained and it freaks Cristiano out a bit.

Schultz’s eyes are unreadable. “Were you alone?”

“No,” Cristiano answers and feels a tickle of fear at the base of his spine when the other lawyer purses his lips, gets out a pen and leans forward in his chair to scribble something down into his notes.

Schultz’s next question makes Cristianos blood run cold. “Did you invite Mr. Dybala to your flat so that you could have sex with him?”

Cristiano gapes at him and his voice is failing him again.

After a brief pause, Schultz sighs and repeats the question. “Did you invite Mr. Dybala to your flat so that–”

“I didn’t!” Cristiano denies vehemently, finding his voice.

The other lawyer’s hand falters over his papers, eyes snapping up. “You deny inviting Mr. Dybala to your flat?” He sounds almost eager.

Schultz clears his throat and says, “I strongly suggest you tell the truth. Lying will only hurt you in the face of our evidence.”

 _What evidence?_ Cristiano wants to scream. “No. I admit I asked him over.” He pauses, then adds, “As a friend.”

Schultz takes a long sip of his coffee, seemingly unaffected by the scalding liquid burning its way down his throat. “So you invited Dybala to your flat, then you forced yourself–”

“No! What the hell? No!”

“Cris,” Pia says, her voice unbearably soft.

“He misunderstood!” Cristiano finds her eyes again, desperate to make her see that this is all just one big mistake.

“I’d say,” Schultz says with a scoff.

“We were just bonding,” Cristiano manages weakly.

The lawyer sets his pen aside and reaches for the small device that can apparently play sound. “Is _this_ what you call bonding?”

The lawyer hits the button and Cristiano’s own voice comes off scratchy through the speakers.

_I want you._

“I didn’t… I’d never…It wasn’t like that at all!” Cristiano splutters.

Schulz peers up at him, still as composed as he was the moment he stepped into Cristiano’s flat.

Paulo’s voice comes next and hearing it is like a physical blow.

_…don’t want… please don’t…_

Cristiano blanches. He did tell Paulo to take off his clothes, didn’t he?

**\- - -**


	5. Chapter 5

**\- - -**

The record keeps playing and it’s missing crucial chunks of their entire conversation, more noise than legible words, but both of their voices are clearly distinguishable.

 _You’re hot,_ Cristiano’s voice blurts out on the record.

Paulo’s voice sounds raw in comparison.

_Please don’t… oh please, don’t…I’ve seen you looking… I should have known better._

Cristiano feels like he might be sick. “That’s not the whole thing, I swear it wasn’t like this at all.”

_The ink’s hot!… And so is the accent! It’s very… Argentinean._

Cristiano remembers Paulo reaching for his phone, poking at it while his back was still turned to Cristiano. Was that when Paulo decided to record their conversation?

Through the speakers, Paulo gasps and says, _You like them small enough to manhandle, huh?_

_…I do._

Cristiano listens to his voice say, _Let’s forget this ever happened, okay?_ And it sounds too suggestive when there is no context to back it up. His shouts of _Come back! Paulo, come back!… Wait!_ are equally damning.

The recording loops and starts playing again.

_I want you._

Neither Schultz nor the other lawyer reach to pause it and Cristiano doesn’t dare. Every second of this is a torture. It’s so wrong, the words are twisted and the message the record sends is just plain wrong but he has no idea how he could prove what really happened.

_…don’t want… please don’t…_

The other lawyer taps his pen against the table. “This record is the evidence of the events that transpired here earlier today.”

Cristiano jumps to his feet. “This is not what happened!”

“So you didn’t tell Mr. Dybala, quote, I want you, unquote? Are you saying this isn’t your voice?”

“I wasn’t–” Cristiano chokes out, helpless.

_You’re hot._

Schulz frowns, inclines his head towards the speakers that are still spewing horribly twisted obscenities in Cristiano’s voice. “So you claim you weren’t talking about him?”

_The ink’s hot! And so is the accent it’s very… Argentinean._

“He was taking about _me_.”

Cristiano snaps his head around, having completely forgotten about Leo.

Everyone is gaping at Leo – most of all Cristiano – but Leo doesn’t seem to mind. He walks to Cristiano with a slight limp, presses against his side, sneaks one hand around Cristiano’s waist and tucks himself by his side, tipping his head into Cristiano’s chest, like this was easy for them, comfortable, like they did this all the time.

“Leo!”

Leo pats Cristiano’s chest, then keeps his palm there, soothing. “I know you didn’t want anyone to know about us but I think this is as good reason as any.”

Pia, bless her, reaches out and stops the record from playing anymore twisted phrases.

Cristiano looks down at Leo, completely speechless.

“Now. About these allegations,” Leo says, turning to look at Schultz. He gives Schultz a sweet smile.

Leo is all wide eyes and soft words and Schulz and company are eating it up with a spoon, nodding their heads and apologising to them for disturbing their evening because of some unfounded allegations of one jealous teammate.

“It’s no bother at all,” Leo says. “We’re glad this all got cleared up, right Cris?”

“Right,” Cristiano manages to say.

The three men exchange looks, Paulo’s lawyer puts his record player back into his bag together with his paperwork and pen and then they all get up and head back to the hallway. Cristiano watches it all, hardly believing his luck.

“Again, I apologize for the very unfortunate misunderstanding,” Schultz says, grimacing as he reaches his hand towards Cristiano. Leo drops his hand from Cristiano’s chest so Cristiano can take Schultz’s hand but he stays pressed close. Cristiano wonders if Leo is doing it to ease the pressure off his foot or if that’s just an added bonus of his charade.

Cristiano suffers through Schultz’s death grip once again.

“Oh, Mr. Scarselli?” Leo calls out when the agent and the two lawyers are nearly at the door. Paulo’s lawyer stops, turning to look at Leo.

Cristiano wonders how long Leo had been listening, to remember the name of the guy Cristiano himself didn’t know.

The lawyer tilts his head, indicating he’s listening.

“I thought that for recorded conversations to be successfully used as an evidence, both parties would have had to agree to be recorded in the first place, no?” Leo does the wide-eyed thing again, like he’s really just unsure and would like to know.

“And this record sounded more like excerpts, it would be good to have the whole transcript,” Stella pipes up. “Instead of just the highlights version.”

Cristiano has to bite his lip to keep in the smile threatening to break out at the idea of the lawyer having to listen to the whole recording and meticulously make a transcript, wasting two, maybe even three hours of his time on something so pointless.

“Oh. I don’t think that would be necessary, Miss Renzetti,” Leo says in a tone that would be more fitting if Stella was a petulant toddler. “I believe this has been just one huge misunderstanding and we managed to clear everything up, haven’t we gentlemen?”

Schultz gives them a curt nod and the other lawyer says, “Of course, Mr. Messi. I’ll speak to my client to make sure no further _misunderstandings_ arise.” Paulo’s agent doesn’t say anything.

“Thank you,” Cristiano says.

“Good. Then we’ll be going.”

“I’d still like to have a quick word with you, Cris,” Pia says.

Leo peels himself away from Cristiano’s side but not before briefly tipping his head back and giving Cristiano a sugary sweet smile. Cristiano’s heart skips a beat but Leo isn’t looking at him anymore, gesturing for the three men to follow him. “I’ll see you out.”

“I know why you never told me,” Pia says the moment they’re out of sight. “But I still wish you did.”

Cristiano sits down heavily at the table. “I wasn’t planning on telling anyone.” _Ever._

“Even if you didn’t plan on telling anyone,” Pia frowns, “you could have told me so that we could have had a plan in place in case the word got out. I don’t appreciate being blindsided.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s done now,” Pia waves him off. “But we need to talk about what you want to do in case Scarselli can’t keep his mouth shut.”

“Do we need to do that now?” Cristiano would prefer to be finally left alone. Today has been one hell of a day and he needs time to digest it all. From the shock of Paulo thinking Cristiano was suggesting they hook up to the whiplash of Paulo’s reaction when he found out that wasn’t what Cristiano had in mind at all.

“We should definitely keep an eye on Scarselli. The guy always gives me the creeps,” Stella nods.

**\- - -**


	6. Chapter 6

**\- - -**

“I’m sorry about what I said about you earlier, Miss Renzetti,” Leo says, returning. He pulls a chair over to where Cristiano is sitting so that there is way too little space left between them.

“Don’t worry, no harm done. You made them back off quicker than I’ve ever been able to,” Stella tells Leo. “They can assume what the hell they want about me.”

“They do that anyway,” Pia mutters under her breath.

“And please, call me Stella, none of that Miss Renzetti nonsence,” Stella says, giving Leo the same nod she gave Cristiano earlier.

“All right, Stella,” Leo says. “Well, I can’t really say it’s been a pleasure to have you over at my place.” He pauses and Stella chuckles. “But Cris has mentioned you earlier so it’s nice to meet you.”

“He has?” Pia’s brow furrows.

“Well, he hasn’t mentioned you’d be stopping by today,” Leo admits. It’s remarkable how easily he blends lies and half-truths and serves them up with a sweet smile.

“We did drop in on you rather unexpectedly,” Stella allows.

“But we didn’t get any warning either,” Pia says.

“I’m sure you had better things to do,” Leo says and turns to aim that dangerously sweet smile at Cristiano, reaching out to touch Cristiano’s hand. “In fact, we also had different plans.”

Cristiano turns his hand palm up and watches as Leo links their fingers together.

“Other plans, I see,” Pia melts. “Oh, of course! We’ll be going, I’ll get in touch later.” Then she pauses. “Wait. Did you say this is _your_ place?”

Leo nods.

Pia turns to Cristiano, beaming. “And it’s also your address, ah, but this is wonderful!”

“So it is more than just a casual thing,” Stella observes and Pia gives her a smug smirk.

Pia’s expression is still bright when she addresses Cristiano and Leo. “How long have you two been living together?”

Cristiano stares at her.

“That’s a rather private question, Pia,” Leo says and offers her an apologetic smile. He even manages to make his face look sheepish.

“Right.”

“We’d rather keep things private.” Leo squeezes Cristiano’s fingers. “I hope you understand.”

Pia shakes her head. “I still think you should tell us. We need to be prepared because that thing from today, it won’t just quietly go away.”

Cristiano lets go of Leo’s hand, sitting upright. “But I thought Schultz said–”

“What did you have in mind?” Leo cuts in.

“I think you shouldn’t be hiding anymore. This,” she gestures at the two of them, “will make a great public image.”

Leo seems to be taken aback.

Pia is on a roll. “If we tell people about you two, it can be on our own terms. We won’t have to sit and wait to see what Scarselli throws at you next.”

Stella is taken by that idea. “We need to portray your stable, loving relationship. Getting a house together, enjoying every moment you manage to be with the other to its fullest.”

Pia is nodding, “Cris moving to Italy to take the edge of the strain between Real and Barça, trying to escape the war the media keeps building around them.”

“Sympathy points for making the long distance relationship work, no matter how busy both of your schedules are.” Stella is grinning now.

“And after your injury, you came here to spend the recovery period with Cris and realized there was no point in hiding anymore.”

Cristiano is staring at the two women going back and forth, not sure if he should be impressed or horrified at the image they were able to draw in a matter of minutes.

Pia’s grin dims a little. “It would be much better for the public to already assume you’re in a happy relationship by the time Scarselli figures out his next move. Are you okay with going public? It won’t be an easy step.”

Getting arrested based on a few misinterpreted phrases doesn’t sound like a better option to Cristiano but he isn’t sure dragging Leo into it would be fair.

“It’s not an easy decision,” he says.

Pia bites her lip. “I don’t want to put you two under any pressure but you should decide. If we want to get ahead of whatever Paulo tries next, we need to act quickly.”

Stella nods. “The press conference would have to be called soon, maybe tomorrow afternoon if we can swing it. The sooner, the better.”

“You really think he wouldn’t just let it go?”

“Cris,” Pia says, reaching for a thin golden necklace she always wears around her neck. It has a small yellow stone set in the middle of a star-shaped pendant and it caught Cristiano’s eye last year when he was looking for an inspiration for a gift for his mother. “We can’t know for sure. Maybe Paulo will talk with Scarselli and they decide not to push it any further.”

“But?”

Pia slides her thumb underneath the necklace and starts playing with it absentmindedly. Cristiano follows the nervous movements with his eyes. “But I don’t want to risk it.”

“Well, it’s not just my decision,” Cristiano points out.

“Of course.”

There is a moment of silence.

“Leo?” Cristano prods because Leo seems to have spaced out.

“I’m ready for this,” Leo says.

Cristiano isn’t sure he heard him right. “You want to do this?”

Leo turns his head to Cristiano and his eyes bore into him, searching for any kind of objection. He finds none, of course, Cristiano would be a fool not to take the easiest way out of this whole mess. And Leo did volunteer, so Cristiano shouldn’t feel like he’d be exploiting him.

Leo keeps looking at him for so long Cristiano wonders if he wants to make it seem to Pia and Stella that they’re having that kind of wordless conversation some couples do.

Leo’s brow furrows, likely in contemplation of everything that this charade would entail.

Cristiano quirks his eyebrow up, lip curling into a smirk. This is Leo’s last chance to back off and admit he was kidding and that he was only trying to help with Scarselli but that this was too much, the lie to huge to keep at it.

Cristiano expects the words to come any moment.

Leo finally breaks their intense eye contact and he nods. “Yes. Let me just get in touch with my people to keep them in the loop.”

**\- - -**


	7. Chapter 7

**\- - -**

“That was quick,” Cristiano says when Leo hangs his phone and comes back to them.

“I guess,” Leo shrugs, evasive. “It didn’t take much explaining.” 

Cristiano wants to ask him how that particular conversation went down because he can’t imagine dropping a bombshell like that on his agent without getting dragged into half an hour debate.

He doesn’t get the chance to ask because Stella moves aside to let Leo hobble past her to sit down and says, “All right, I’m glad we’re all on the same page.” She glances from Leo to Cristiano and then back to Leo. “Do we want a press conference drama or are we making the media discover it for themselves?”

Pia nibbles on her lip. “I vote for the press conference, tomorrow evening. We can pick the reporters we invite so it doesn’t get completely out of hand the moment you open your mouth.”

“There’s also the new exhibit opening at the art gallery tonight,” Stella suggests. “If you guys enjoy art. Trust me, you would be noticed and the news would spread like a wildfire.”

 _It’s all happening too fast._ Cristiano crosses his arms and hopes his worry isn’t showing on his face. He can’t imagine going anywhere tonight to make people believe things. He can barely believe it himself. It’s insane to consider that he is expected to be with Leo, pretend that they’re an item, look like they’re happily in love. When they’re not.

Of course, Pia doesn’t know that last bit. Pia thinks she’s helping them avoid the consequences of Paulo’s wrath. She thinks Cristiano has already been dating Leo in secret for god knows how long. If she can believe it, anyone can, right?

“No, not tonight,” Pia shakes her head and Cristiano lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Not enough time to get them ready for the media storm.”

 _The media shitstorm,_ Cristiano’s mind corrects unhelpfully. He shoots a look at Leo, trying to catch his eye.

“I don’t see how tonight is any different from tomorrow’s afternoon,” Stella says. “They both have already had more media training than we can give them overnight.”

Leo clears his throat. “Not that we wouldn’t like to only speak to the few reporters who came for the new art exhibit instead of bunch of sport journalists that are out for our blood but it would be all people talk about. It would overshadow the actual art event. I don’t think it would be fair of us to do that to the gallery.”

“Oh, you’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”

Cristiano feels a twinge of annoyance because he can hardly ever achieve that level of graceful dismissal. If he told Stella he thinks her idea is crazy, she’d take offence. But the way Leo manages to turn down Stella’s idea while sounding considerate of all parties involved, that is something else.

“The press conference it is,” he says, addressing Pia. Pia never takes offence at anything Cristiano says, probably because she also likes to say things as she sees them, without bothering with pleasantries.

“Fine by me,” Pia nods. “But we really need to go over what you guys are going to say for the press and decide what kind of questions are you willing to answer and what not.”

He needs to talk about it with Leo first, he can’t just _know_ things that never happened. What about their first date or the first holidays they spent together, when they decided to commit to their relationship, when did Cristiano tell Leo about Italy, how did Leo take it, how, when, why, Cristiano can imagine the list go on indefinitely.

He feels the dread growing in his stomach. He really didn’t think this through. If he is this upset just imagining what Pia might ask them, he doesn’t want to know how he’s going to survive tomorrow’s onslaught of questions from the press.

“Look, today has been really exhausting and my painkillers are making me all drowsy.” Leo gestures to his leg. “Any chance we can we maybe go over this in the morning?”

Pia looks him up and down, then nods. “First thing in the morning,” she stresses.

“Thank you.”

“All right then. Anything else before we go?”

Cristiano can hardly believe how easily Leo bought them time to discuss what they are actually going to claim tomorrow. He finally manages to catch Leo’s eye and offers him a small smile.

Leo tilts his head just so in acknowledgement, then asks Pia, “Actually, I wanted to ask if you don’t happen to have a list of the questions we should be prepared for. Or a list of topics that might be good to mention.”

Pia pulls out her phone. “We’ll need to discuss it in the morning, this is just a list I’ve had for a while but it has the basics covered so you’ll get the general idea.”

Cristiano can hardly believe her. “You have a list already?”

Pia shrugs. “It’s just the standard version of what I call the ‘suddenly acquired wife’ template. Obviously, we’ll need to modify that.”

“Tomorrow,” Stella reminds her.

“Yes, we’ll need to fix that tomorrow but I’m emailing it to you now so you guys know what you are in for. There are questions that we’ll of course skip, like if the reason you’re going public about your relationship is because you got your girlfriend pregnant,” Pia gives them a toothy grin but Cristiano doesn’t feel like laughing.

Pia is talking fast and Cristiano has barely time to process everything she’s saying.

“There’re questions about kids and future family that we can skip as well. Although–” she glances at the two of them, gaze questioning. “Maybe you’re already thinking about kids?”

“Maybe the marriage first, Pia,” Leo manages feebly. Cristiano suddenly has anywhere else to look but at the two of them.

“Oh right, marriage, good.” She does a few quick pokes at her screen. “That’s good. I can work with that. So, you should have the file on your phone, Cris, and we’ll go over the rest tomorrow.”

Leo nods. Cristiano sees the jerky movement it out of the corner of his eye because he is still pretending to be captivated by the pattern of the floorboards and isn’t looking up at either Leo, Pia or Stella.

“Well, good night, then.”

They make to leave, finally. Cristiano feels like he can breathe a little easier. That is, until Leo fumbles over to him and sneaks his hand around Cristiano’s waist and fucking cuddles him as he holds himself upright, putting as little weight on his leg as possible. Leo yawns. “Good night. Sorry for all of this.”

“It’s a mess,” Cristiano says softly, not trusting his voice to be anything above a whisper. Not only is he going to come out tomorrow, he’s going to claim Leo is the love of his life.

Leo’s hand tightens around him. The touch is warm and anchoring, not actually unpleasant at all.

Pia shakes her head. “No need to apologise. It’s my job.”

“We’ll be there to help you through it,” Stella assures. “You have our support and we’ll tell the team tomorrow to make sure they’ve got your back as well.”

“Oh,” Leo breathes out and on the same rush of exhale, he urgently says, “Cris, you need to call your ma’ and tell her.”

Cristiano feels his knees go weak. _Haven’t thought it through at all, have you._

Pia has the audacity to laugh. “Yeah, you should do that. Wouldn’t want her to find out from her morning paper.”

Stella must see something on Cristiano’s face because she tries to comfort him by saying, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear you two won’t be hiding anymore. It must have been hard on her, too, to keep everything under the lid and not mention it to anyone.”

Cristiano finds the wits to say, “I should call her right away.”

“Of course. Good night, Cris, Leo.”

“Good night.”

Stella and Pia finally take their leave and Cristiano walks them to the door. He is very aware of Leo’s smaller frame being a warm presence by his side with every step they take.

It feels like a bad dream.

**\- - -**


	8. Chapter 8

**\- - -**

Cristiano collapses against the door, eyes falling shut. “What. The. Fuck.”

“On the bright side,” Leo quips, “we can probably break up before they plan our wedding.”

“Probably?”

Leo cackles, leaning in to drop a quick peck on Cristiano’s cheek. “Cheer up, darling. It’ll be a fake break up anyway.”

Cristiano’s cheek tingles where Leo’s lips brushed against it.

“But there’ll need to be some fake dating first,” Cristiano points out because surely Leo is missing this part of the deal. He’d never have agreed otherwise.

“I’m sure the pain will be very real,” Leo says, sounding way too cheerful.

Cristiano’s eyes narrow in suspicion. “You’re taking this well.”

Leo shoots him a quick look and then says, “You’d better get used to that, or we’re never going to pull this off.”

Cristiano can’t shake the feeling that Leo wanted to say something else but he doesn’t push it, he has other things to worry about.

Namely, calling his mother. “You were right, I need to tell my mum.”

Leo lets out a weary sigh. “I suppose I should make a few phone calls as well so there are no nasty surprises tomorrow. You gonna be okay?”

Cristiano realizes that his fingers are tracing the spot on his cheek that Leo kissed. He drops his hand. “Yeah, sure. It’s just… it’s crazy to consider that we expect people to believe us about this, you know?”

“They won’t believe us anything if you keep looking at me like that.”

Cristiano bristles. “Like what?”

“Like… have you seen Body Snatchers?”

Cristiano has not but he gets the general idea. “Well, excuse me for feeling sceptic about this. How am I supposed to pretend I’m in love with you? I don’t even know you that well.”

Leo limps past him back into the living room. “Yeah, I suppose it’ll take a real stretch of the imagination.”

Cristiano trails after him and watches as Leo settles down and props his leg up on a table with a grimace. Maybe he’s in more pain than Cristiano assumed. “Are the pills really making you sleepy? You can crash here if you want.”

“I’m not taking any pills and I’d prefer to sleep in my own bed, thanks.”

Cristiano doesn’t care either way. “Suit yourself. But Pia will expect you to be here in the morning.”

“I can buy us something for breakfast on my way over here. If I’m not here before she arrives, just tell her I went out to buy us some food,” Leo suggests. “If she’s already here before I can make it, I’ll give you a quick kiss when I come in. It would look weird if I didn’t do it. Just don’t be startled.”

“Fine.”

Maybe it’s the curt reply or maybe it’s something in his tone but it makes Leo look up at Cristiano with a frown. “If you’re going to have issues with casual intimacy, just say so now and we can stop trying to get everyone fooled.”

Dealing with Leo doesn’t sound like a hardship in comparison to everything Paulo could come up with.

“I have no issues with it,” Cristiano assures him but then he thinks better of it and adds, “but no PDA.”

Leo rolls his eyes. “Okay. Anything else I should know about?”

“I don’t like it when people nibble on my earlobes,” Cristiano says and it gets him another eye roll, this time with a an amused shake of head.

“Noted. But I meant it about the questions on Pia’s list, is there something I need to know before I tell everyone? For instance, I’m sure everyone would love to know how long have we been dating.”

“Oh. We should probably go over everything and decide what would sound most plausible.”

Cristiano gets his phone and forwards Pia’s questions to Leo and after a brief hesitation, he saves Leo’s number into his contact list simply as _Leo_. They wouldn’t want to overdo it and fluffy nicknames would be too on the nose.

Leo studies the series of question and his face gets darker and darker the longer he reads. “How on Earth am I expected to memorise all of this?”

“No idea,” Cristiano says, equally as miserable. “I don’t even know when your birthday is.”

Leo snickers. “At least you know which team I play for.”

“Asshole,” Cristiano says but he knows the smile can be heard in his voice.

“I’m sorry for trying to cheer you up,” Leo says. “I don’t know why are you taking this so badly. I realize you would prefer to have it done in some other way but it’s not like you never planned to come out, right?”

“Have _you_ planned to come out?”

Leo says nothing.

“Well, I haven’t. I definitely didn’t want to say anything until I was retired.”

“I’m sorry about the thing with Paulo.”

Leo’s earnest tone makes something ache Cristiano’s chest. “Thanks. And Leo, thanks for earlier. With Schultz and the others.”

“Don’t thank me just yet.” Leo taps the side of his phone. “We need to pull it off first.”

Cristiano feels like he’s trapped in the quicksand. There is no solid point he could hold onto, everything is changing in front of his eyes. Not even twelve hours ago, his life was perfectly normal. He wasn’t quite settled into the new routine but things were decisively normal.

When he went to Italy he was looking forward to the change. He was mentally prepared for it. But he never considered he would be doing something like this. And much less with Leo. This wasn’t supposed to be a part of his new life.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Leo says, eyes on Cristiano. “We’ll tell people we want to keep things private and if anyone wonders how come they never noticed we explain we were paranoid about people finding out and we were really good at hiding it.”

Cristiano drums his fingers against his leg. “Okay.” 

“The same goes if someone asks why aren’t we acting more lovey-dovey, we say old habits die hard and that it is sometimes hard to remember we can be open about our love after having to hide it for so long.”

Cristiano doesn’t want to admit how nice it is to hear Leo talk about their fake relationship like it’s not a big deal. Like it’s something they can manage, nice and easy. “How long are we talking?”

“I don’t know, that depends on your track record. Let’s say half a year, or am I being too generous?”

“Oh, piss of, would you?”

“I would, gladly,” Leo says with a smirk. “But we kinda have to go through the questions first. So.” Leo squints as his phone. “Where did the two of us meet?”

**\- - -**

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not abandoned, I'm just taking a little break. Thank you guys for your comments, they mean a lot to me.


End file.
